Crack Open the Sky
by Tasogare-Taichou
Summary: Pairings:NejiHina. The muchrequested sequel to Shelter in Your Arms. After several hours without sleep, Hyuuga Neji is forced to reconfigure a few things in his life. Warning: Slight citrus towards the end, but nothing explicit.


Crack Open the Sky

The much-begged-for sequel to "Shelter In Your Arms". Enjoy

Rating: R for citrus-spice

Pairings: NejiHina

Genre: Romance

Fandom: Naruto

With a heavy sigh, slightly bruised lids lifted themselves from their present state where they covered opalescent depths as the face they were set in turned slightly to regard the glowing red numerals that blazed mockingly through the dimness of the room. 3:37 AM. Neji muffled a groan, letting his head fall back against the pillow, uncomfortably aware of the soft weight against his side, the slow and even breaths that brushed ever so gently against the skin of his neck This wouldn't do.

He'd thought he was doing her a favour, letting Hinata curl up beside him to seek shelter from the storm. And what could be the harm in it? Afterall, he was shinobi. A Jounin, and a _Hyuuga_ at that. It wasn't as though control was something he lacked. Especially when said control was being applied in theory to his own motives and actions. But if that were truly the case, then…why was he still awake hours later, hours after the girl in question had drifted off to sleep, lulled perhaps by the faint whisper of his heartbeat. Or, he assumed that was what had finally calmed her, given the present positioning of darkly-tressed head against his bare chest. Which was another thing he hadn't thought about until too late. His current state of semi-undress.

Not only was it most definitely NOT proper, but it made things…more difficult. Especially when his sleep-deprived and fogged brain remarked rather matter-of-factly that the feeling of Hinata's hair against his skin was actually quite a pleasant sensation. Which had brought his thoughts full-circle back to the current issue of his small cousin's disturbing closeness, and the even _more_ disturbing realization that he not only enjoyed it, but didn't want her to move.

_Why did I even agree to let her stay in the first place? I should have been firmer. Then I'd at least be getting some sleep._

As much as he might have liked to continue on that train of thought, the ever-irritating portion of his brain that seemed often bent on filling his head with decidedly improper thoughts of Hinata-sama chose that moment to remind him that the reason he'd agreed to let the girl stay was precisely the same reason that he was currently debating with himself. That he'd _wanted_ her to stay. And as much as it galled a part of him to admit it to himself, the Hyuuga genius couldn't completely deny that it was true. But that didn't mean he was going to allow himself the luxury of debating and debunking said truth. Whether he knew the how and why behind it or not, it didn't matter. Thinking about it further would only serve to complicate matters further, and Hyuuga Neji didn't like complicated things.

Shifting restlessly, he grimaced as the arm she was laying on began to protest it's current lack of bloodflow. Glancing down at her sleeping face, Neji took a deep breath and wiggled his arm, trying to extricate it from beneath her, or at least shift it such that the circulation would be renewed. It was ironic, in a way. On the battlefield, it would have taken at least 3 or 4 people to incapacitate one of his arms. But now, with the simple act of falling asleep on it, Hinata had served to render his upper right appendage virtually useless.

When the slight shifting didn't have the desired effect of removing the unpleasant prickling sensation in his fingers, he tugged harder. Neji wasn't really even sure why he was going to such lengths NOT to wake her up. Afterall, did it really matter to him whether he woke her up or not? And once again that treacherous portion of his brain remarked that yes, it did in-fact matter.

Finally admitting defeat, he let an exasperated sigh escape pursed lips as he relaxed back against the futon. It was pointless, really. Though it did surprise him that, as light a sleeper as she normally tended to be, Hinata still hadn't woken up.

_Why is she still asleep? Normally she wakes at the slightest sound, no matter how innocuous. An admirable trait for a shinobi, if it weren't overshadowed by fear at whatever the sound might bring._

It would seem that fate, or at least irony, was on Hyuuga Neji's side that night, for not a scant 30 seconds after the thought left his tired brain, there was a stirring. A shifting of indigo hair against skin and the slight curling of small fingers against his chest where they rested. Sleepily, Hinata raised her head to focus bleary eyes on the countenance of her cousin.

"Neji-niisan?"

She couldn't see him very clearly in the blackness of the room, so without much of a thought she scooted a tad higher, leaning over him with a confused look on her face.

"Are you alright?"

In most circumstances, she would likely have turned bright red. Stammered, backed up and apologized for being there, for being this close to him. But this time, it seemed as though the shadow of sleep still held her somewhat in it's gossamer coils. Cocking her head to one side, she pursed her lips as indigo brows furrowed into a frown. He wasn't saying anything. Which in itself wasn't that unusual for Neji, she supposed. But…at the same time, he was normally always quick to respond when asked something. Maybe…something was wrong?

His initial shock at her sudden looming was immediately replaced with a sense of trepidation and what could almost be termed dread as she leaned over him that way. White eyes widened and he mentally cursed himself as he felt his face grow warmer. It wasn't supposed to be this way, she wasn't supposed to do that to him without even _doing_ anything. Stubbornly fighting back the urge to squirm, to get away, he swallowed and nodded in response. At least she hadn't climbed on top of him. While the darkness might have hid any colour in his cheeks, there were some things that it didn't conceal with quite as much skill.

"Of course, Hinata-sama. I'm fine. Merely restless and having some difficulty sleeping. It's nothing to worry yourself over."

An awkward pat on her back with his free hand proved to be another bad idea. Because despite the soft material of her white yukata, he could feel her warmth through the fabric, which only made him want said fabric out of the way. Ruthlessly he crushed _that_ thought, along with a whole host of others that sprang up as a result, and threw it back into the corner of his mind that was becoming rapidly more crowded as the night went on.

She frowned, looking troubled. Hinata didn't like to think that she could be the cause of his sudden bout of insomnia. Afterall, it had been her fear that had sent her careening into his room at top speed in search of comfort. So therefore it would be only fair that she do what she could to help him sleep. Ducking her head for a moment, she glanced back up at him with a shy smile.

"Th…thank you, Neji-niisan….for…for letting me stay. It…made me really happy."

Another smile, this one warmer then that last, and her head was cocked to the side again as she continued.

"If there's….something I can do to….help you sleep…tell me, ok?"

He didn't really know what to say. And not because of her words, for they were nothing short of normal for Hinata. Always kind, always altruistic, she was the embodiment of gentleness and grace and kindness. It would have been moronic not to assume that she'd try and find some way to repay him for his "kindness" in letting her stay with him. No, what caused the muscles in Hyuuga Neji's throat to tighten and his breath to catch wasn't the words that issued forth from the younger girls' mouth. It was the vision in front of him. Staring down at him, eyes reflecting the pale moonlight that shone through the window, shading her hair with a starshine cast and leaving her pale skin and yukata luminous.

What Neji saw wasn't the cousin he had once professed to hate. What rested before his eyes was the angel he'd seen in her as a child, when he'd first met her. But rather then a shy, timid cherub of a thing, this was as the final step to the masterpiece. The ultimate unveiling of something crafted so carefully over time. Perfect heart-shaped face, eyes like opals ringed by startlingly dark lashes. Hair like liquid midnight spilling over her shoulders to brush against his chest and frame her face. Slender shape with soft curves that he couldn't believe he'd never noticed before.

Neji could barely make out his own voice over the sudden rushing in his ears, but he heard the faint croaking sound of the syllables making their way past lips that felt frozen, stumbling and choking over the thick lump in the back of his throat as he simply stared up at her, rapidly losing his fight with the truth of his own desires.

"And…if there _was_ something you could do, Hinata-sama?"

Almost before he realized what he was doing, the Jounin had rolled over, flipping them and pinning her to the futon, one elbow resting on either side of her, one knee pressed into the sheets between her knees. She was…beautiful like that, eyes wide, cheeks flushed slightly from surprise, darkly-hued hair splayed out like a splash of midnight-blue ink across the pillow. For a moment, all he could _do_ was stare at her, not caring if those expressionless eyes he wore had chosen that moment to betray him. To shine and reflect all the things he'd never been able to tell her, all the things he'd never wanted to admit to himself. Even the fear, that dwelt amidst the desire and longing and warmth. The fear that if he dared make a move, that he'd find his own death awaiting him within the burning pain of the juuin. Or worse, find those eyes that were so similar yet so different from his own eyes staring back at him from behind a mask of fear, hurt, and betrayal.

Fear in itself was something that, despite outward appearances, was not at all unknown to Hyuuga Neji. But up until this point, it had always been an unwanted visitor, a minor annoyance. Not something that made differences in the way he lived his life, or something that dictated the ebb and flow of the tides of his moods. And yet, at this precise moment, fear was the only name he could give to the sudden surge of emotion that threatened to drown him. Fear that he'd made a mistake, that tomorrow's light would bring everything crashing down around him, that he'd tied the noose tight about his own throat.

_No…don't be afraid of this, Neji. You've…already gone too far to back out now._

And he was right. He had gone too far to turn back. For what would happen should he turn away now? It wouldn't take away the shock and disbelief in her eyes, the realization behind those same orbs. She knew. All of his shields, all of his walls and defenses and facades had just crumbled to so much dust in the face of her smile, and she _knew_. And she would always know, no matter the path he took. Neji drew a ragged breath, head lowering slowly to rest his bandaged, branded forehead softly against the perfect skin of the unmarred brow beneath him as he whispered to her, voice thick with emotion.

"Would you do it?"

Hinata hadn't known what to think when Neji's expression had changed. At first, she'd worried that she'd somehow offended or upset him by suggesting that one such as she, who was a burden on everyone, could somehow provide remedy to his problem. The suffocating silence between them had begun to drag, but as she'd mentally scrambled for some sort of word or phrase with which to impregnate the stale air with, she'd heard his tense words, his voice different then she'd ever heard it before. Deeper, raspier, more…intense, in a way. And she'd not even had the time to comprehend it, nor discern the reasoning behind it before she'd found herself flat on her back, Neji's larger body pressing her slighter form into the futon, his elbows on either side of her, as he loomed over her. Just as she hadn't known what to say, what to do as he gazed down at her with eyes that suddenly seemed so much more expressive then she'd remembered them being.

She knew those eyes, knew them as surely as she knew that the sky was blue, the grass was green, and her name was Hyuuga Hinata. And she knew them because they were the same as hers. Not merely in shape and colour and hue, but in so much more then that. They were the same eyes she carried when she watched him train. When she would steal glances at him from across the table at dinner when she thought no one was looking. Deep eyes, full of longing and hope and fear and something more, something that she wasn't even sure how to put into words. Hinata felt her own eyes slip closed as his warm forehead pressed against hers.

"N…Neji-niisan?"

He didn't answer her at first, so she wasn't sure if he'd heard her quiet murmur of his name. Rather, the longhaired man simply stayed perfectly still, dark chocolate of his hair falling over his shoulders and mingling with the indigo-black of her pooled tresses. One hand uncurled itself from it's shocked grasp of the sheets as she felt herself relax, felt the familiar ache return. But this time, she didn't ignore it, didn't push it aside. Reaching up with a small, shaking hand, she brushed long fingers through deep brown strands to slide calloused yet soft fingertips along the angle of his jaw in a tentative caress as she tried again.

"Neji…"

He'd heard her the first time, but the second… He'd never thought a single word could carry so much weight, so much meaning. His name, just…his name. No honourifics, no "nii-san". Just "Neji". One hand groped for hers, larger fingers curling around her smaller ones at the sheer weight of the implications those two syllables carried. And then, his mouth was on hers, fierce and hungry with need and want and that indefinable something else that he didn't know how to classify, but knew he wanted it, _needed_ it. Needed _her_. His other arm slid across the sheets to slip underneath her torso, pulling her flush against him as he let go of her hand to tangle his fingers into her hair.

Hinata hadn't expected him to kiss her, hadn't thought he would hold her so tight, for him to do any of the things he was currently doing. And yet, despite the fact that she hadn't expected it, she'd _wanted_ it. Wanted him to be the one to kiss her this way, to make her pulse race and make her blood simmer. And now it seemed that, appearances to the contrary, he wanted it as badly as she did. With a small whimper, she gave in, lips parting at his tongue's insistent press against those same soft petals, gasping slightly as Neji plundered her mouth in a heated, passionate kiss that did everything to convey all those things he'd found himself incapable of actually saying.

She wasn't fighting him, wasn't resisting him or crying or trying to make him stop. In fact, she was whimpering and kissing him back, small hands sliding down his shoulders to slip under his arms and flatten against his back, holding him closer as she returned his kiss with one of her own, shy and inexperienced yet somehow not lacking in emotion. And that only served to fuel his own actions. Whether the thundering in his ears was the storm outside or the rushing of his own blood, it didn't matter to Neji as he tugged on her hair, craning her neck back to drag his tongue across her throat, delighting in the small hitching gasps and moans that his attentions drew from her.

And she was his. All his, and no one else's. A fact that he wouldn't relinquish, wouldn't give up, regardless of the cost. Because he wanted her, needed her, _loved_ her. Afterall, _that_ was the something else. Love. And somewhere between the rustle of silk as the white yukata landed in a pile across the floor and the halting moans as her legs wrapped around his waist as he pushed into her, he realized it. _Love_. Love had always been the answer, always been the reason. Since he had met her that first time, as an innocent child, through the years where his own anger and pain blinded him and sought it's target in her sweetness, to the first time he'd embarrassed himself with the notion that he had "non-cousinly" thoughts about her, to the times he'd lie awake at night trying to forget that she was sleeping on the other side of the compound.

And as her nails dug into his back as her name tore from his throat in a groan as she sobbed his to the storm's fury, it all made sense. And it no longer mattered that she was Soke and he Bunke. The Juuin, the Hyuuga, nothing mattered but the two of them and the night and the feelings they shared.

The rain had ceased it's dull roar to an even pattering of droplets on the tiles when the first rays of the morning's sun began to shine through the window, striking a path across the floor to land on Hinata's sleeping face where she lay curled against Neji. Her pillow remained awake, watching her sleep with an expression of tenderness such that he hadn't worn in years. Tightening his arm around her shoulders, he leaned down to press a gentle kiss against her forehead, one hand brushing sweat-damp indigo hair from her face as he whispered in her ear.

"I love you, Hinata-sama."

She smiled in her sleep, shifting closer to him as one arm slipped around his waist as she nuzzled against him with a sleepy murmur of his name. White eyes slipped open to land on him, expression gentle and loving. Sidling closer, she leaned up to kiss him softly on the lips before settling back down into the comfortable crook of his arm, one hand idly playing with a stray strand of chocolate-brown hair.

"Ne, Neji?"

Looking up at him with a smile, she glanced past him to the sunrise, watching the last drops of water falling from the edge of the tiles that hung over the portal to the outdoors.

"I don't think I'm afraid of thunderstorms anymore."

OK, you guys wanted it, so here it is and I hope you enjoyed it. It's meant to be a sequel, that takes place later on the same night as Shelter in Your Arms does. Please read and review and tell me what you think, I had a lot of fun writing it and the credit for the initial theme of "thunderstorm" goes, as before, to my best friend Kan-chan.


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